Fox News Slapped for Calling Mrs. Obama "baby mama"

A graphic used by Fox News Channel during a conversation about Michelle Obama has stirred up controversy.

It referred to Obama as "Obama's baby mama."

The graphic ran during an interview with conservative columnist Michelle Malkin about whether press coverage of the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been unfair.

Salon.com columnist Joan Walsh took issue with the graphic. "Are they racist, or just clueless?" she wrote. "Isn't there racism even in their cluelessness, if somebody didn't know what 'baby mama' means, but used it anyway? Even at Fox, won't somebody have to apologize?"

On her blog, Malkin, who never actually spoke the phrase on the air, responded to the controversy: "I don't know if the caption writer was making a lame attempt to be hip, clueless about the original etymology of the phrase, or both. But I do know that it was Michelle Obama herself who referred to Barack as her "baby's daddy" and has used the phrase "baby daddy" to describe Barack while on the stump this year."

Fox News SVP Bill Shine told TVNewser.com, "A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this [graphic] during the segment."

This is not the first time Fox News has drawn scrutiny regarding its coverage of the Obamas. In the past two weeks Fox anchor E.D. Hill referred to Mr. and Mrs. Obama knocking fists (as an alternative to shaking hands) as a "terrorist fist jab" and contributor Liz Trotta apologized after making a joke about a possible Barack Obama assassination. - J.R. Whalen